I think cutlery also includes chef knives. But the new chef knife can be as sharp as 120 BESS. If so, shouldn't we modify the "new high end cutlery edges" in the attached image?

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I think micro serration is important for the knife edge. But the way to confirm this is not simple. 

There is a way to cut tomatoes, but purchasing tomatoes for this is inefficient. And Steve Bottorff has introduced kitchen towel cutting, but I think this is inefficient too. 

Is there another good way to check for micro serration?

My strategy with this topic is to incorporate all I have learned from helpful bessex members and my own experience doing several conversions. I welcome replies and constructive criticism. My plan is to incorporate ideas into this initial post, thus saving readers from having to wade through multiple posts for the instructions. I would encourage readers to read through the replies to gain the collective experience and wisdom of the group.I apologize for the disorganization of my photos. I had a lot of difficulty inserting them and will clean up the mess when I am able to.

 Begin here:


Any Viel belt grinder can be converted to variable speed. However, the easiest and most cost efficient way is by using a Viel from sharpeningmadeeasy.com. There are three reasons for this:

1) The bore on the Viel drive pulleys is one half inch. This is designed to match the shaft diameter on NEMA 44 motors. Unfortunately, the shaft on the Penn State Industries (PSI) variable speed motors has a diameter of fifteen millimeters. In the past, we had two choices, both normally requiring a machine shop. 

     1) The motor shaft could be turned down to half inch. Or 

     2) The  drive pulley could be bored out to fifteen millimeter. The modified Viel units from Sharpeningmadeeasy come with the drive pulley already bored out to fifteen millimeters. This transforms fitting the shaft and the drive pulley from an expensive machine shop job to an easy fit home workshop project.

2) The standard six inch drive pulley has been replaced with a 3 3/4 inch drive pulley. This switch in pulley size alone reduces the Surface feet per minute (SFM) by one third. The smaller diameter of the PSI motor allows using the smaller drive pulley.

3) The Sharpeningmadeeasy unit comes with a specially designed mounting plate. This plate, a collaborative design effort of the Bess Exchange, removes the tedious layout work. It also makes assembly an easy home project with a regular electric drill instead of requiring a drill press.

A few tools are required or recommended for this project:
Required:
     an electric drill with a 1/4” bit
     a 1/2” counter sink
     one or two small (2”) C clamps (a couple layers of masking tape soften the clamp jaws)
     1/8” and 5mm Allen wrenches (The Viel pulley screw is Imperial; the PSI motor is metric.)
      2   7/16” wrenches to tighten the 1/4” mounting bolts
      Phillips #2 screwdriver for the 1/4” flat head mounting bolt 
     a 3/16” round file
     a mill file, six inch mill bastard cut works well
     a fine diamond file if the pulley needs a small reduction to slide onto the shaft. ( Two of my conversions needed this, the third did not.)

Highly recommended: a Dewalt or similar 1/4” drill bit, long length (twelve inches) These cost around $7.00 US and make drilling the lower right mounting hole easy. This can also be done by drilling the other two mounting holes and bolting the plate on the outside of the viel frame. The third hole can then be drilled with a regular bit from the outside. A long bit is a real convenience and will prove useful around the shop.

Secure the plate to the Viel as shown in the photograph using the small C clamps with protective tape. Looking from inside the frame, be sure the motor shaft hole is on the right side. The lower right side mounting hole is the hole closest to the bottom (long edge). This hole is the reason for the long drill bit .

Position the plate so that the bottom and right side edges are 1/8”from the Viel frame and the plate is level. Being level is really for aesthetics; it is not critical to the operation of the machine. Drill the three mounting holes one at a time. Use a piece of scrap board for backing to keep the exit holes neat.As each hole is drilled, install and tighten a bolt in it for better alignment. When all three mounting holes are drilled and secured, drill the third motor mounting hole. Then, from the outside, drill the counter sink for the top mounting flat head bolt. Drill the depth until the flat head bolt is flush to clear the grinding belt.

Bolt the mounting plate to the frame. 

THE MOTOR

The PSI motor comes with a multistep pulley on the shaft. This pulley can be easy or difficult to remove. Two of my three were difficult, one was very easy. The correct tool for removal is a gear puller. You will want a gear puller with a hexagonal shape on the back to hold a wrench for leverage. Mine was an inexpensive model with a short sliding T handle. It did not work. After much strain, I was finally able to remove the pulley on my first conversion motor. The second motor would not surrender its pulley. A friendly motor repair technician removed it quickly with a proper gear puller as a customer courtesy. An auto mechanic also has the tool  to do this. The procedure takes about a minute. I have been told that Auto Zone loans tools.

I ground two flats on my gear puller to fit into the jaws of a Crescent wrench for my third motor conversion. Since I was well prepared, the third pulley came off easily. The lever bracket makes a secure way to hold the motor when the other flat end is held flat on a bench.

Once the multi pulley is removed, check the fit of the Viel drive pulley (3 3/4” diameter). It should be a sliding fit. If it doesn't slide easily, do not force it.

Bolt the motor onto the attached mounting plate using the 7mm Allen wrench. If the drive pulley fit is too tight, turn on the motor and lightly touch the diamond file to the shaft until the sliding fit is achieved. 

With the drive pulley still unattached, place a C clamp around the motor shaft (with protective tape) to prevent the shaft from rotating. The flat should be on top. Use the mill file to add a large enough flat surface to secure the Viel drive pulley.

Secure the drive pulley using a 1/8” Allen wrench.

The smaller diameter drive pulley means the height of the idler pulley needs to be adjusted. Placing half inch flat washers on top of spring solves this problem. Start with a dozen washers. Eleven washers is common. Adjust the number until the belt tension seems right.

Enjoy your new variable speed Viel. A useful tool is now more useful.

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Just a suggestion guys...

Thomas

Can we measure the sharpness of scissors with BESS tester?

I recently started to work to figure out an effective way to test sharpness of a blade.  During that time I started with a Lyman pull gauge before coming across the Edge on Up.  I reached out to Mike Brubacher on the use of their device for edge testing for reviews on the "Blade Banter" channel.  He said that I would be able to make a posting here to get some suggestions.

    I tried to put together a fixture type of system and initially I was playing with the use of dental floss sticks initially, then using fishing line currently.  I may pick up a roll of the BESS to see how that works with the unit as it seems well tested and can be a consistent media.  I'm still working with the Lyman pull gauge as a measurement tool and actually made use of a fidget spinner for the media.  

    I put together a device to work to have repeatable testing for knives through reviews and was looking for feedback and advice on the set up. 

Hi everyone,

My name is Kevin, and I recently got a Viel S-5 (my first powered sharpener). I'm still putting it together and was looking for a pyroceram platen, when I got a recommendation to contact Mark Reich, who let me know about this forum.

To give you a little background on my Viel project, I'm just a regular guy who's been using waterstones to keep my knives acceptably sharp (I'm too lazy to keep them really keen, plus I'm slow). As the 'knife guy' I would sharpen kitchen knives for my friends and family occasionally, but most of them were so painfully dull I'd spend ages on coarse stones just to reprofile the edges... only to find them butter-knife dull again a few months later. Sigh, no matter how much I plead not to use plates as cutting boards, or chop frozen meat, or toss knives in the sink full of dishes....

A few months ago I decided to get a KO Worksharp to speed up the work. I could bring it to people's houses and sharpen in the backyard. Well, researching the topic led me to look into all manner of 1x30 and 1x42 belt grinders, and some of the larger ones, too. Since I wanted to keep the machine portable, that ruled out a 2" belt grinder. At the same time, I wanted to keep the door open to dabble in knifemaking in the future, and I have a friend in college who's getting started in knifemaking but is tight on cash, so I could lend him the machine when I'm not using it.

I settled on the Viel S-5 and picked up a motorless one from Lee Valley during one of their free shipping promos. I also got a Baldor 3/4hp motor and KB VFD from some nice ebay deals. I know variable speed seems overkill for a Viel, but I wanted an enclosed motor and a machine that could last a lifetime of use. I wired it up last week, and now I'm experimenting with motor base shims to get the belt centered on the drive wheel. I'm also putting together a Tru-Grit order for 1x42 belts, mostly Norton Blaze and 3M Trizact (I'm welcome to other suggestions).

Does anyone know where I can get a 1" pyroceram platen? That's what led me to Mark, and maybe some folks could point me in the right direction. Thanks for reading my long intro, and I look forward to being a part of the community here.

P.S. I can't seem to add a pic as an attachment, sorry about that.

I haven't always carried two knives, but I've always carried more than one blade.

When I was old enough to take knives and sharpening seriously, around the age of 6 or 7, I graduated from the Camillus folders I got from the grain elevator, to a regular Schrade stockman. Each of the three blades has a function, and I sharpen them accordingly. The large clip point gets the coarse side of the carborundum, with a needle tip for dislodging splinters. The sheepsfoot gets the fine side, and does most of the cutting. The spey is obviously for trimming cuticles, or surgery, on anything from frogs and snakes to cattle, so it's polished clear up to the hard black Arkansas.

I was in 6th grade in 1979, when I got a Buck 110. It was my first single blade, lockback folder. Big old thing, pretty much needed the belt pouch. It took a while to get used to it, but it didn't take up pocket space, so I never quit carrying a stockman.

A few years later I got my first high quality folder. Oh my gosh, the Gerber Silver Night, designed by Al Mar, was like a Swiss watch. Tight, smooth and beautiful, it was too precious to do much cutting, but it was a pocket knife. I decided my left front pocket might as well be good for something, and I started carrying two knives. 

I still carry two knives, but I've pared myself down to just two blades. I have a bunch of really nice folders with pocket clips, and I carried one on each front pocket until I discovered Murray Carter's neck knives. That discovery impressed me so much, I decided I wanted to make the best neck knives that I could possibly make.

Since I started out using different blades for different tasks, I haven't ever carried two blades sharpened equally. I've always carried a coarse blade and a refined blade, and I always will. Neck knives make the most practical sense in the world to me. It's the first item I don in the morning, and the last item I take off. 

Sometimes I carry a refined, "dress" neck knife and a coarse folder, but normally I have a coarse neck knife and a refined folder. My neck knives are indestructible, and cut anything, but there are times when a refined edge is much better suited to the job. Some day someone will need field surgery, and I intend be prepared for the opportunity (yes, I carry sutures in every first aid kit, and know how to use them).

Refined edges are better for lots of things, from opening packaging and mail to cutting cloth (rags, gauze), thin plastic and tape (especially veterinary grade tape), to name but a few. 

I work with extremely sharp things, incredibly abrasive things, and extraordinarily hot things just about all day every day, and I can't wear gloves. But I can whip up an industrial band aid for anyone or anything at any given time too.  

I'm sure this is normal, and everyone carries a razor and a wicked slicer at all times.... right?

Someone says, "You don't have to buy expensive BESS tester, you just need BESS media and a cheap kitchen scale." 

How can you dispute this opinion?